Teaching ideas for Reading texts

11th cluster

12th cluster

Reads for sustained periods (2030 minutes) and sustains understanding in longer texts over time, e.g. reading short novels over several days. Condently engages with a wide range of authentic texts, e.g. newspapers, TV documentaries, websites and chooses reading pathways appropriate to the purpose for reading/viewing. Monitors reading for accuracy and meaning and adjusts reading when difculties are encountered, e.g. adjusts speed, rereads and attends to most important information. Manipulates multiple texts that include a variety of purposes and modes to locate information for a specic purpose. Uses text navigation skills such as skimming and scanning to efciently locate specic information in literary, factual and electronic texts.

Reads increasingly longer novels and subject texts using a range of effective word identication strategies to maintain meaning. Reads, views and uses a wide variety of literary and factual, print and electronic texts with increasing autonomy, e.g. extended novels and information texts, video documentaries, multimedia and performance texts, graphic material. Reads more demanding subject texts that have increasing levels of technicality and abstraction. Monitors reading for accuracy and meaning by selecting and using appropriate higher order word identication skills such as knowledge of word origins and analogy. Condently adjusts the chosen reading/viewing pathway to achieve the intended purpose in literary and factual, print, electronic and multimodal texts.

Analyses and evaluates the ways that inference is used in a text to build understanding. Re-examines sections of texts for evidence to sup interpretations and opinions.

Interprets and critically analyses texts by responding to inferred meaning within a text and justifying interpretations using evidence. Reinterprets ideas and issues by creating innovative personal responses to ideas and issues in literary texts through

Eleventh cluster of markers: Reads for sustained periods (2030 minutes) and sustains understanding in longer texts over time, e.g. reading short novels over several days. Confidently engages with a wide range of authentic texts, e.g. newspapers, TV documentaries, websites and chooses reading pathways appropriate to the purpose for reading/viewing. Monitors reading for accuracy and meaning and adjusts reading when difficulties are encountered, e.g. adjusts speed, rereads and attends to most important information. Manipulates multiple texts that include a variety of purposes and modes to locate information for a specific purpose. Uses text navigation skills such as skimming and scanning to efficiently locate specific information in literary, factual and electronic texts.

Reading journals
Decide on a suitable text to demonstrate responding to narratives and journal reflections. Prepare a skeleton story map or timeline for re-telling the gist of the story so far. Talk to the students about the things they can do to remind themselves about what has happened in the story so far, for example, previewing. Display some reading response prompts for the students to use, such as: Make notes on your story map or story frame as you read. Draw a picture of what you think will happen next in the story. What surprised/interested me the most about what I read today was

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State of New South Wales through the NSW Department of Education and Training, 2011

Teaching ideas for Reading texts

Cluster 11

Example of a story frame: Write notes under each category and note the page number where you found the information. Setting: Place: Time: Characters: Page number:

Problem: Resolution:

Model how to stop and reflect on the text already read and how to predict future developments. Then model how to record these in a mocked up double-entry journal on the board. Ask the students to draw a line down the middle of the page in their reading journals. They should use the lefthand side to predict what might happen next, make connections or record something that surprised or confused them. Explain that the righthand column is for the students to respond to their observations. Double-entry journals should also have space to record the date and the number of pages read on that occasion. Reflect read respond: Students should spend time reviewing their story maps/frames before recommencing reading. They should also skim the chapter headings of the last few chapters and the last page they had previously read. Students should engage in silent reading, stopping as needed to annotate the story map/frame with any new/surprising developments. Variation: Where students are reading the same text, the double-entry journals can be developed as silent conversations between pairs. Ask students to record the paragraph number and page number of the section that surprised/interested them the most and compare notes. Teachers can use sticky notes to respond to journal entries so that students and teachers can also carry on a silent conversation. Students can move the note to the next page to respond if a question needs to be answered or it can be picked up in reading conferences.

Navigating blogs
Prepare a class blog on a current topic. Review the structure and features of a blog, e.g. pages, archives, categories, search form. Revise how to find a blog post with specific criteria, e.g. browse through archives by date, find a sub-category of topic, use search form to find posts by specific author/blogger. Organise students into pairs.

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State of New South Wales through the NSW Department of Education and Training, 2011

Teaching ideas for Reading texts

Cluster 11

Ask each pair to explore the blog to find one specific post with many responses/comments. The provide time for each pair to share a summary of the blog post.

Reading corner survey

Collect a range of texts suitable for all reading levels, across several genres and incorporating a mix of media. Prepare copies of a response log for students to use. Differentiate the reading levels with different coloured dots. Prepare and display a poster showing the names of students and the coloured dots that indicate their estimated reading levels. Remind students how to double-check whether the text is at the right reading level for them. Explain to the students how the reading area has been set up and draw students attention to their names on the poster. Model the selection process choosing an appropriate text for one of the students in the group. Each student should select at least three texts. Monitor each students selection. Model skimming and scanning a few pages from a range of texts. Provide each student with a response logbook and explain its use. Emphasise the allocation of time to be spent on each text: 3 minutes finding out what the text is about 1 minute thinking about the responses in the Comments prompt box 1 minute completing the rest of the response logbook allow the maximum time for reflecting and talking with partners/the group. Response logbook Title Author Comments Rate: Your top three

Prompts for comments could include: A person who would like this would be someone who I dont think I would like this book because I would like to find out more about This book reminds me of

Extension: Design a TV ad or poster for the top text you read. Share it with your group.
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State of New South Wales through the NSW Department of Education and Training, 2011

Teaching ideas for Reading texts

Cluster11

Insert
Select a text on a familiar topic. Prepare an enlarged copy of the first paragraph to use for modelling with students and copies of the text for students to use. Prepare and display a large chart showing the Insert symbols (see below). Explain how it sometimes happens that we read something without understanding it completely. Discuss reasons why this happens. Explain the use of the Insert chart as a strategy to help with the reflection and monitoring of reading: Use the Insert symbols below to help you monitor your thinking as you read. 4 ? ! This symbols confirms something I already knew: I knew that. Contradicts what I thought: I thought differently. This confuses me: I dont understand this. Something new: I didnt know that!

Emphasise that before reading, students should review what they already know about the topic and think about what things the author might want us to understand using a KWL chart. Talk about each of the symbols on the chart and how they can help students to keep track of their understanding of the passage. Display the passage of enlarged text and model using the symbols and the text in inverted commas (see chart above) at relevant points. Assign students to small groups and issue copies of the text. Ask students to use the Insert strategy as they read through the text together. Re-convene as a whole class to reflect on the effectiveness of the Insert strategy. Also discuss ways that students might apply the Insert technique when note-taking.

Jigsaw research
Select a variety of texts on the same theme, e.g., web pages, non-fiction books and pamphlets. Divide the class into groups of three and allocate the areas of investigation. Organise research stations in different parts of the room for each group. Prepare and display a KWL chart on the board and print copies for students to use. Activate students background knowledge by writing up the first letters of a number of key words the students might expect to find in the texts they are about to read. Ask students to predict what these words might be. Write suggestions in the K area of the KWL chart on the board. Issue KWL charts to all students in the group and ask them to copy down the correct words (underlined on the board) under K.

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State of New South Wales through the NSW Department of Education and Training, 2011

Teaching ideas for Reading texts

Cluster 11

Ask students to move to their specialist groups according to their allocated roles and give each group their research area, e.g. location/climate/vegetation. Ask each group to brainstorm what they expect to find in their research and write this in the W (want to know) part of their KWL chart. Explain how jigsaw reading works: Each group will split into their specialist tasks and go to the allocated area of the classroom. Students will have two minutes only to gather information before returning to their groups. Students then work collaboratively to fill in the information in the L (Learnt) section of the chart and complete the cloze exercise.

Exploring film
Prepare a section of a film or vidcast relating to a current topic. Prepare an electronic quiz which includes questions not only about the content but about the features of the film or vidcast. Review the features of film (audio, visual, subtitle text, camera angles, etc). Remind students how to locate a specific point in the film by skipping forward and backwards to the time wanted, e.g. 1 min 30 sec. Ask students to complete the quiz and allow them to re-view sections of the film for clues.

Scanning web pages

Prepare a list of familiar web pages on a current topic. Revise how to scan for key information from a web page, e.g. headings, subheadings, images, links. Choose five topic words occurring on the web page. Write the words on the board. Organise students into pairs. Establish a scenario where students eyes are magnifying glasses and are trying to locate key words from the web page. Students use an online highlighter tool to annotate the website (e.g. interactive whiteboard software) once the key words have been found. Repeat the activity for each website. At the end of each activity, allow pairs to discuss scanning strategies to find the key words on the web page.

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State of New South Wales through the NSW Department of Education and Training, 2011